Europe

UK - Mercer Investment Consulting has been taken on to help £530m Shropshire County Council Pension Fund make its first investment in hedge funds.

UK - Merrill Lynch Investment Managers has appointed David Buckle as a director of fixed income.

UK - Equity exposure in with-profits additional voluntary contribution funds has fallen dramatically in the past year, a new study shows.

SPAIN - Spanish company pension plans have established an industry association to represent their interests along the lines of the UK's National Association of Pension Funds.

UK - Edinburgh Partners has hired Arthur Copple and Alex Gowns to help develop its investment trust business.

UK - Hopes of an economic upturn are prompting an increasing number of schemes to boost their private equity allocations, Aberdeen Development Capital claims.

UK - Fund managers are refuting claims that they are slowing down the shift to long-term, liability-driven mandates.

UK - Suffolk Life has appointed Alex Scott-Barrett as its chairman.

UK - Justin Ward has joined Hermes Private Equity as a director.

UK - Massive gaps between the best and worst performing FTSE100 stocks are giving active managers share-picking opportunities, Schroders says.